Congressman defends Don Lemon over heated Vivek Ramaswamy interview

The former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the UN, herself now a Republican presidential contender, took to Twitter yesterday to celebrate the downfall of the man who controversially suggested she was “past her prime” and wasted no time in turning the moment into a sales opportunity.

“A great day for women everywhere. Now, let’s get men out of women’s sports,” she wrote before pitching a range of beer can koozies emblazened with her slogans.

Ariana Baio has more on this timeliest of grifts.

This is what the presenter himself has had to say about the sexism accusations levelled against him.

Also speaking up for Lemon yesterday was The View’s Sunny Hostin, who said: “I don’t believe, in my experience with him, that he’s a misogynist. I think he loves women: he loves his mother, he loved his sister, he loves me, he loves Joy Behar.”

As we mentioned earlier, The New York Times has reported that CNN executives were left exasperated by the heated interview Don Lemon carried out with entrepreneur and aspiring Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy last week, in which their pair sparred over the history of the civil rights movement as co-presenter Poppy Harlow squirmed awkwardly in her chair.

However, California Democratic congressman Ro Khanna has leapt to the anchor’s defence, retweeting the clip and commenting: “Don Lemon was right. As an Indian American, I was profoundly embarrassed by Vivek lecturing a Black man about Black history. The truth is that the Black civil rights movement paved the way for the 1965 immigration act so that Vivek’s family or mine could come to America. We owe a huge debt.”

Ironic applause and whistles broke out in the Fox News studio as Hannity covered the Lemon news last night – an astonishingly hypocritical attack on a fellow professional given what the recent Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit revealed about what went on at Fox behind the scenes in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

While the precise reasoning behind Lemon’s dismissal from CNN is still not totally clear, one thing is certain: his exit from the network was involuntary.

John Bowden has more on a suprise move that coincided with Tucker Carlson’s bombshell ousting from conservative rival Fox.

According to The New York Times, several CNN leaders were left “exasperated” by Lemon’s heated interview with Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy last week.

Lemon and Ramaswarmy fiercely debated the Second Amendment right to bear arms and its role in Black history. At one point, Lemon removed his earpiece as he said he couldn’t hear his subject while producers were talking in his ear.

Before joining CNN 17 years ago, Lemon jumped between several other news anchor gigs after joining the profession surprisingly late.

The Independent has put together Lemon’s career timeline, from his first job in journalism to his dismissal from CNN.

“Good News: ‘The dumbest man on television,’ Don Lemon, has finally been fired from Fake News CNN,” Donald Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social on Monday.

He added, “My only question is, WHAT TOOK THEM SO LONG?”

Lemon, who had been a host on CNN since 2014, was an outspoken critic of Trump.

Lemon’s firing coincided with that of another US media giant: Tucker Carlson.

Insiders say Carlson was “blindsided” by his removal from Fox News after eight years on the network.